


I'm Only Me when I'm with You

by felicityollies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Light Angst, Olicity Big Bang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5647114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity is a young nineteen year old. She lives with her mother on a ranch in Louisiana. She’s taken time off from school and has been helping her mother care for their land and animals. She has doubts about her future, but does her best to convince herself and everyone around her that she’s happy. Her mother hires a young stable hand to help Felicity. Oliver Queen happens to be that stable hand. He too puts up a front, but for very different reasons.</p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <br/>
  </p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The day has finally come for me to post this. I'm super nervous, but excited about it. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this, so I really hope you all like it. It's my first multi-chapter fic that I've actually finished and I'm proud of it. I'm throwing around the idea of adding an epilogue after the initial eight chapters, but we shall see how everything goes.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who helped me with this. I appreciate it more than you could ever know. ♥

  
  
art by [anddirtyrain](http://anddirtyrain.tumblr.com)  


  


“Felicity!” Her mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

The sound caught her off guard and startled her slightly. “Coming!” She called back a second later.

She sucked in a deep breath and tried to finish up what she was typing. They didn’t get a very good internet connection where they lived, but Felicity easily streamed the best Wi-Fi available; without her mother’s knowledge of course.

“Fe-li-ci-ty!” Her mother punctuated each syllable in her name. Obviously she had been taking too much time getting downstairs.

“I’m comin’!” She shouted back.

She took another deep breath and closed her laptop. She took the computer and put it in her closet with the rest of her tech; routers, half pulled apart computers, and various other pieces of machinery. It was kind of a mess of tech and clothing, though she did make sure that she kept them separate.

“What are you doin’ up there?” Donna sounded very annoyed with her daughter. Felicity always knew when her mother was extra peeved because her already thick accent seemed to get worse. She didn’t know how that was possible, but it was.

“Mama, I’ll be right there! I’m just tidyin’ up.” Felicity’s room was a lot messier than the rest of the house. If she wasn’t doing chores she was on her computer which left little time for keeping her room clean. That wasn’t the only difference in the nineteen-year old’s room. Donna’s taste was warm, homey, and inviting. Felicity on the other hand worked best surrounded by cool colors, minimalistic furniture, and movie posters.

She slid from her bed smoothing out her yellow cotton dress. Felicity slipped on her brown leather boots before heading out the door to find out what her mother wanted. The cowboy boots clunked against the wooden floor loudly as she went down the stairs. She hit the bottom and turned a corner to find the older blonde waiting for her by the window; her attention fully on something that Felicity couldn’t see.

“Mama, what’s goin’ on?” She asked.

Donna turned towards her and narrowed her eyes. “What were you doin’?”

“I told you, I was cleanin’.”

“You weren’t on that computer again?” Donna took a step closer. “Them bags under your eyes are tellin’ me that you’ve been up late again.”

_Not again._ Felicity sighed and shook her head. “I wasn’t. I swear. Now are you gonna tell me what is goin’ on?”

Donna looked like she wanted to keep arguing, but shook her head instead. “We hired a stable hand.” She turned and pointed out the window. “Mr. Diggle is showing him around now. He was so kind to come down here and help me interview these young men.”

Mr. Diggle was their neighbor from down the road on the left. He came over to help them once in a while. He was a kindhearted man with a wife and a daughter of his own. He was in his late thirties, much older than Felicity, but she thought of him as a good friend.

Once Donna finished speaking she turned her attention back to the young man; at least that’s what Felicity was going to assume. He must have been attractive for her to have been staring so much. She shook her head and went out the front door to find them.

The temperature change from the inside of the cabin and outside hit her like a wall. The air was hot and sticky with humidity. Felicity knew that her blond curls were going to suffer because of it. This wasn’t surprising considering it was a summer day in the middle of June in Choudrant, Louisiana. Choudrant was a small village in northern Louisiana; a four-and-a-half-hour drive from New Orleans. The weather in Louisiana was always hot; something Felicity should have been used to since she had lived there her whole life.

The sun beat down on her, but she ignored it and pressed onward. She spotted John Diggle and hurried her pace. He stood in front of the mysterious stable hand, who was apparently a few inches shorter, so she couldn’t see his face just yet. The older man wasn’t small to begin with. He was tall and extremely muscular; probably from the years of working on his own farm.

Her neighbor turned when he heard her coming up. “Felicity,” He said. “I was just helpin’ your mama by showin’ Oliver around, but since you’re here now.” He stepped back and motioned for her to step forward. “You two will be workin’ together.”

Felicity nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Diggle.”

He nodded to her and took another step away from them.

She smiled and looked up to meet the cool blue gaze that was Oliver’s. She took in a quick breath. He was handsome, more so than she thought he would be. No wonder her mama had been watching him. It took her a moment to realize she had seen his face somewhere before. The infamous Oliver Queen. She wondered why her mother didn’t mention that, but she would ask about it later. John walked away from them and started towards the house. He also didn’t seem too worried about the Queen boy, but maybe the things she had heard weren’t true. Rumors did have a way of exaggerating the truth.

Oliver gave her a charming smile, “Well aren’t you one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen.” He had an accent as she did, but his was much more mild. She didn’t doubt that he’d been taught to speak without one.

“I…” Her cheeks burned with a bright blush. “Thank you.” She managed to squeak out. Felicity didn’t even know if he was being sincere or if he was just a flirt, but either way her cheeks were cherry red.

Oliver chuckled and ran his fingers through his sun bleached blonde hair. His skin was tan making it that much more obvious that he had worked outside a lot. Although, she wasn’t sure if the word work really applied to him. More like spent a lot of time outdoors, probably lounging.

She was still trying to process the situation. Why was the Oliver Queen was coming to work on her family’s ranch? “You’re Oliver Queen.” She blurted out.

“I am.” He said not really phased by her blatant staring.

“What are you doin’ here?” She asked. It sounded kind of rude, but she didn’t mean for it to be.

He raised a brow at her. “Working?”

Felicity frowned. She didn’t know a lot about the Queen family other than the rumors that flew around their small town. She knew they were wealthy and the children were troublemakers. She had also heard they had been dealing with a lot of problems lately. “But…” She started to say.

“Listen,” Oliver interjected. “I’m not going to get into the reasons why I’m here, but I will work hard. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Felicity pressed her lips together for a moment before nodding, “Alright.” She supposed she was being kind of rude. “Sorry, I guess you just don’t seem like the type that would want to do this kinda thing.” She cringed a little and tried to backtrack. “Not that you look like any sort of type. I mean I can see that you’re strong and have probably spent a lot of time outside.” She almost couldn’t believe she had just commented on his physique and tan.

Another smile tugged at Oliver’s lips, but this time it was more of an amused smirk.

_Oh god Felicity you’re so embarrassing._ She took in a deep breath. “Let me start over.” She said. “I’m Felicity Smoak and I’m happy to be working with you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Felicity.” He still looked too amused, but she wasn’t going to say anything about it.

Felicity pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before turning and leading him towards the stables. “So, what did Mr. Diggle already show you?” She asked.

“Just the basics. When to be here, what I’ll be doin’, and all that.”

The large wooden building was tall and long. The wood was painted a dark blue, but it was worn and weathered definitely in need of a touch up. It was surrounded by stretches of green grass and foliage behind it. That was one thing she did like about living on the ranch. The views from all sides were beautiful and green.

Felicity glanced towards him as they walked. He gave her another charming grin. She could definitely get used to seeing that every day. She bit her lip a little and kept moving towards the stables.

“This is where most of the work gets done.” She opened up the large doors. There lines of stalls on either side. Almost every one of them had a horse inside. Some of them stomped their hooves onto the ground and neighed; Felicity liked to think it was their form of a greeting. “Only one of ‘em are ours, the others we take care of for some folks in town.”

“Which one is yours?” He asked.

Felicity walked over to a large dark brown mare. “This is Ada. She’s named after the first computer programmer. Not that you asked, but anyway.”

She smiled up at the horse as Ada leaned her head down over the gate. Her hand moved up to pet her muzzle gently. Ada snorted and nuzzled her hand. “Sorry, I don’t have any treats today.” The horse gave an offended huff and took a step back. “You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted.”

Oliver chuckled. “Horses are pretty finicky.”

“Especially Ada,” Felicity shook her head and walked towards him. She gestured towards the rest of the horses. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”

Felicity walked through the stables with him and introduced him to each of the horses that he would be working with. “I figure it’s a good idea to know them all. Each one is unique… kinda like people.” She smiled wide. They neared the end of the stables; only a few more horses left to show. “This is Lola.” She stopped in front of a light grey horse. “She’s a champion.”

Oliver walked up to Lola and smiled as she leaned down to snuffle close to his face. “She seems like one.”

“Her rider comes in at least a couple times a week to see her and every couple months for competitions.” Felicity said with a soft sigh. “I don’t like competitions. I would rather let them live leisurely lives, you know?” She glanced towards him. “But then again…” Her eyes moved towards Ada. “Sometimes that leads to fat horses.”

Ada made an offended noise from all the way down at the other end of the stables. The both of them laughed. Felicity took a breath, “Not gonna argue with the people that pay me, though.” She said.

She showed him the rest of the animals they cared for before showing him where they kept everything; food, brushes, cleaning tools etc. As they left the stables she turned towards him. “One more thing.” She led him to a large fenced off area. It was a few acres of land that was completely reserved for the horses. They let them run through the fenced off section of land and enjoy themselves at least for a short period of time.

She explained that to him and added. “We have to walk the length of the fence once in a while to check for breaks and holes, but we really don’t have to worry all that much.” Oliver looked around and nodded. “I think I got it.”

“So, I guess that’s it.” She muttered.

“Well, thank you for showing me around, Felicity.” He smiled that ridiculously charming smile again.

“No problem.” She held her hand out to him and he gladly shook it. His hand was much larger than hers and warm too. She could feel the calluses on his palms and fingers. They walked until they reached the front of the house again. Felicity glanced towards her home where her mother was probably waiting for her and then back to Oliver. “I should be getting home.” He muttered.

“Me too.” She mumbled. “I mean my home is right here so I don’t have very far to go.” She bit her lip and blushed.

Oliver chuckled again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Felicity nodded, but kept herself from saying anything else. She watched him walk away from her down the path to where his beat up pickup truck was waiting for him. She noted the way his butt looked in his tight jeans, but told herself not to stare. He gave one last glance to her and she smiled. She was really looking forward to working with him, but she hoped that she wouldn’t make a fool out of herself. She had a terrible tendency of doing that.


	2. Chapter 2

_BEEP BEEP BEEP._   


“Oh god.” Felicity groaned as the sound of her alarm blared in her ear.

Her hand slammed down onto the off button. It was far too early for her to be awake, but then again she felt that way every morning. She reached blindly for her glasses accidentally knocking them off her bedside table. “Seriously?” 

She let out an annoyed huff as she flipped a handmade quilt and cotton sheets off her body. Her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor causing her to cringe. Felicity whined and reached down to scoop her glasses up off the floor. She slid them onto her face before stretching and letting out a long yawn.

Her computer still sat open and plugged in. She must have forgotten to put it away before passing out. She plucked it from the bedside table and moved her finger across the touchpad. Yep she had left it on and open to one of the tech forums she frequented. Felicity barely remembered taking her glasses off and setting the computer down, but according to the time stamp on her last post it had only been about three hours earlier. Oh, it was going to be a long day. 

Felicity closed the laptop and put it away in the closet. She had to force herself to do her usual five crunches even though she didn’t want to. She had a morning routine and it was important that she stuck to it. Workout, shower, get dressed, and breakfast all before 7:30 when she needed to start her chores. After putting on her favorite pair of tattered denim shorts, a pink cotton blouse, and the same brown leather cowboy boots she wore everyday she jogged down the steps and into the kitchen. 

Donna stood in front of the sink rinsing out a bowl she had used for breakfast. She hummed happily as she did so. Such a morning person. Felicity knew she had been awake for at least an hour already. She never understood how her mother was such a bubbly ray of sunshine so early in the morning. 

“Good morning.” Donna said in her singsong voice. 

“Morning.” Felicity grumbled back. 

Donna turned around and gave her daughter the brightest smile. Just as cheery as ever. Her makeup was perfect as was her hair. She wore a tight dress and a pair of pumps; much different than the attire she wore when she was working around the house. 

“Going somewhere?” Felicity asked as she walked towards the coffee maker. She was thankful that her mother always started a pot before she was awake. 

“I have some errands to run this morning, but I’ll be back this afternoon.” Donna leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to her daughter’s temple. 

“Before you leave can I ask you somethin’?” 

Donna nodded. 

“Do you know anythin’ about Oliver?” 

Her mother’s face lit up the way it usually did when she was about to spill some gossip. “Well, yesterday before I hired him you know I had to do some checking up on him. Mr. Diggle only knew a little, so I called the girls down at the salon. I heard from them that he’s one of those playboys.” Felicity had heard that too. “But it looks like he’s finally shapin’ up, not by choice mind you. His family is dealin’ with some financial trouble. It’s so sad.” Donna shook her head. 

Felicity grabbed her mug and poured the coffee into it. She added a bit of cream and sugar before taking the tiniest sip. She kept her eyes on Donna while she spoke. She didn’t know how much of what she said was true, but it was interesting to say the least. She plucked an orange from a bowl on the kitchen table. She slid into her usual spot and took another drink of the scalding hot coffee.

“I heard that after his daddy passed they had to sell everything. The plantation and cars. No one has talked to the Queen’s much lately. Must be embarrassed.” She shook her head again. “But you know I don’t put much stock into these stories.” _Blatant lie._

“Sounds kinda crazy.” Felicity muttered. 

Donna nodded again, “Mhmm. I think while I’m out I’ll stop by the salon just to say hi. I haven’t seen anyone face to face for bout a week.” _That was code for I need find out the latest gossip and hopefully bring home more information about the Queen boy._

“Tell the ladies I said hi too.” 

“Oh, I will, but you should stop by soon. You’re gonna need a touch up.” She tapped the top of her own head. 

Felicity nodded. She knew she needed to keep her roots from showing. 

Donna pulled away from the counter and started towards the front door, but stopped for just a moment to add. “Mr. Queen will be here soon, so make sure all the work around here gets done, but be nice. I want you two gettin’ along.”

Felicity nodded. “Alright, mama.”

She took another step, but stopped again. “And don’t you waste time on that computer again. I would rather you use your free time for something more productive.” 

Felicity groaned internally. “Like what?” 

“Findin’ a nice boy to settle down with.” _It’s the 21st century._

“Right.” She held in a sigh. “Maybe.” 

Donna gave a loud dramatic exasperated sigh. “Alright, I just don’t want you to become an old maid with no husband or worse a ton of cats.” 

“Mama.” Felicity used a warning tone. 

“I’m just sayin’” She finally turned to leave. 

Felicity made sure that Donna was out the door before letting out the longest sigh. They seemed to have a discussion about the lack of her social and dating life every other day. It was annoying, but that’s the way her mother was. 

She popped an orange wedge into her mouth chewing slowly while lost in her own thoughts. She jumped and nearly choked when she heard a knock at the door. She swallowed coughing a little. “Come in.” She called out.

The front door swung open and Oliver stepped through. He gave her that charming grin of his, “Morning Felicity… Uh are you okay?” His smile faltered a bit.

“I’m fine.” She took a large gulp of her coffee. 

“Oh, good. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Felicity motioned for him to come closer. “You can sit and relax for a sec. Have some coffee… if you want.”

Oliver shook his head, “That’s alright. I think I’ll just get started on today’s work.”

“Okay, I’ll be out soon.” She watched him leave and let out a soft breath. Great way to start the day; choking on an orange and looking like an idiot. 

Felicity had a few chores to do inside the house before she could join him outside, but she figured he would be alright by himself at least for a little while. The nineteen-year-old finished her breakfast as well as a second cup of coffee before she started in on her chores. She did laundry, cleaned, and watered the small vegetable garden that she and her mother had out back. She checked for weeds, but it seemed like she wouldn’t have to worry about that until tomorrow or even later in the week.

By the time Felicity started towards the stables the sun had risen high in the sky. The heat and humidity were just as high. Not unbearable, but as soon as it reached about twelve in the afternoon it would be rough. She spotted Oliver carrying a large bale of hay towards the stables. He dropped it down near a few that he had apparently already brought from the barn. Her movement slowed and she blinked when she actually caught sight of him; the hay had been blocking some of her view. 

Oliver had removed his shirt at some point probably due to the heat. He didn’t have any tan lines that she could see. She knew that the way his t-shirts fit him he had to be muscular, but damn she didn’t expect this. He looked like a person that worked out a lot. His body was something to be envied. A chiseled masterpiece that could put the statue of David to shame. Oliver’s sweat rolled down his chest making him appear to be glistening. He wiped some more sweat off his brow and let out a breath as his hands moved down to his hips. When he breathed in Felicity could see his stomach and chest move practically rippling.

She wasn’t sure if the temperature had actually risen in the last couple of seconds or if it was just her. Either way she felt the need to fan herself, but refrained from doing so. Oliver stretched and twisted his torso from side to side for a quick moment. Felicity’s eyes were glued onto his abs watching the way his muscles moved. 

“Wow.” She gasped; not loud enough for him to hear her thankfully.

Oliver turned and smiled finally noticing that she was there. “Hey.”

Felicity had to force herself to stop staring and hope that he didn’t notice. She also hoped that her cheeks weren’t too pink. She became flustered so easily, but that seemed worse when she was around Oliver. “Hi.” She walked the rest of the way to him trying her best not to look like a total nerd. “Need some help?”

He nodded. “I could use a hand feeding everyone.”

“I can do that.” She gave a cheery smile.

“I already cleaned out the stalls and got everybody groomed.” He said as he lifted one of the hay bales.

“That’s great.” Felicity grabbed onto a bale and carefully lifted it. 

The bales weighed about thirty-five pounds each and that was light. Since Felicity did most of the lifting around there her mother made sure to purchase bales that were smaller. It was a little more expensive, but Felicity wasn’t exactly a weight lifter. Oliver lifted them with ease and it was almost unfair. 

She followed Oliver inside of the stables. Her eyes moved over his backside causing her to bite down on her lip. How is he so freakin’ ripped?! And his butt looked just as good as it did yesterday. Why was he even wearing such tight jeans? Who does that when they’re supposed to be working? 

Felicity shook her head and moved to feed the horses. The way she was acting it must seem like she had never seen a man before. Her mother would probably believe that, but it obviously wasn’t true. 

She must have been making a face while she was feeding one of the horses because Oliver raised his brow at her. “You alright?” He asked. 

“Yeah, why?” She asked as if she hadn’t been lost inside her own head. 

“You were making a face…. and talking to yourself.”

Felicity smacked her forehead with her palm. She had a bad habit of talking to herself and thinking out loud. She definitely hadn’t meant to say anything about her thoughts to Oliver. Especially considering she had been thinking about him. That was so embarrassing. 

“I didn’t hear anything you said if that makes you feel any better.” He gave her a reassuring smile. 

“A little.” She sighed heavily. “Nothing’s wrong, though. I promise.” 

Oliver nodded. “Good.” 

Oliver probably thought that she was a total weirdo now, but it had only been a matter of time. She had hoped that they would get more than a day before she ruined it. She shook her head and finished carrying the hay towards the horses. They worked quietly feeding all of the animals and making sure they all had water as well. 

“We can let them out in a little bit.” She said as they exited the stables. She nodded towards the large fenced off area where the horses could run. “Until then… would you like some lemonade?” She raised a brow at Oliver. 

He was still very shirtless and covered in sweat, but she was doing her best not to let her eyes drop below his gaze. She didn’t need to add to her already strange behavior. He ran his hand down his face and wiped away some sweat. Rude. Felicity bit down on her lip and waited and extra second for an answer.

“Lemonade?” He asked and she nodded. “Sure.” The corners of his lips twitched upward. There was that damn smile again. 

She refused to let herself stare at his stupid smile and just returned the smile with her own, “Great!” She said and started to lead him towards the house. “I made it myself. Not that it’s hard. Well it’s time consuming squeezing lemons and it can be painful. Hand cramps and if you have a papercut or some other tiny wound the pain…That sounds very dramatic, but I’m not an overly dramatic person at all.” 

She continued to ramble on hardly aware that she was doing it. “Unless you count the time that there was a blackout and I had no access to the Wi-Fi. Then it sure as heck felt like the world was about to end.” She realized that she had gone way off topic again. 

She counted in her head, 3… 2… 1 “But anyway, fresh lemonade… this way.” Felicity opened the front door and pointed to the kitchen. 

She pressed her lips together and ignored the very amused expression on Oliver’s face. She didn’t know what that even meant. He probably thought she was some dumb self-absorbed teenager which wasn’t true at all. She just didn’t know when to close her mouth. She seemed bound and determined to make herself look like a moron in front of him. Felicity took in a deep breath and reached up for two glasses. She set them on the table and went to grab the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge. She watched Oliver for just a moment as he glanced around the kitchen. She poured the sweet and sour drink into both cups and pushed one towards Oliver. 

He tugged his shirt back on finally covering his ridiculous six pack. Thank God. He picked up the glass and took a sip. “Pretty good.” He licked his lips which she was going to ignore.

“Thanks.” She said with a sweet smile. 

Oliver sat down at the table and Felicity did the same. “So, computers huh?” 

Felicity’s brows knitted together. “Wait, what?” 

“You like computers.” He said before taking another drink of lemonade. 

She recalled that she had mentioned her horse was named after a computer programmer and she had just said something about Wi-Fi. Wow he’s paying attention to what I say. “Oh, yeah I do.” Her expression relaxed more. “I guess you could call computers a hobby of mine.” 

“Cool.” He actually sounded like he was genuinely interested. “I was never very good at that… tech stuff. IPhones maybe, but that’s about it.” He chuckled. 

Felicity knew that he had no idea the extent of her knowledge when it came to technology, but she didn’t think she needed to share that. “That’s kind of sad.” She giggled. 

He looked down and shook his head; a smile still prevalent on his face. “I’m not completely useless, but….” He trailed off. 

She stifled another giggle. “I totally believe you.” 

Oliver knew that she didn’t. “Mhmm.” He lifted his drink and drained the rest of his lemonade. 

Felicity finished off hers before taking his empty class and putting them both in the sink. She reached up into one of the cupboards and grabbed a jar of sugar cubes. 

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked quirking an eyebrow up at her. 

“You’ll see,” She grabbed a handful of the sugar cubes. “Let’s go.” 

He still seemed confused, but he led her back to the stables anyway. Felicity moved to stand just inside the fenced off area. “Let Ada out.” 

He did what she said and opened up the gate keeping Ada inside. The large horse started towards Felicity. “Hey girl.” She cooed. The mare leaned her head down near Felicity’s hand and snuffled. “Yeah I know you want one.” She laughed. 

She gave Ada one of the sugar cubes. Once the treat was in her mouth Ada trotted off further into the grassy area. “They’ll do just about anythin’ for a sugar cube or a peppermint candy.” Felicity said to Oliver who was watching her. 

“I’ll have to remember that.” He seemed impressed, though, Felicity couldn’t imagine why. She didn’t think it was that amazing.

They got the rest of the horses beyond the gate; each of them getting a sugar cube as a bribe and treat. Felicity closed it up and looked to Oliver. “I think we did a good job today.” He nodded. “Glad you think so.” 

“Were you worried or somethin’?” She leaned against the fence. 

“Maybe a bit.” He ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged. 

“Well don’t be. You did great.” She smiled wide. “I think we could really be something.”

He raised his brow at her again. 

“I mean we could be a great team.” She stammered. “Because we work well together as co-workers. I didn’t mean anything more than that. I don’t think of you that way… because I just met you. Not that I’ll start thinking of you as more than co-workers over time or something. Well maybe, but more like as in friends.”

_God Felicity what are you doing?_ She took in a deep breath and ignored the burning in her cheeks. “3…. 2…. 1…. What I meant to say is that we had a good day and I think we’re going to work well together…”

Oliver had that dumb amused smirk on his face again. “I think so too,” She could hear the laughter he was trying to hide in his voice. “And we could be friends.” 

Though her cheeks were still rosy pink from embarrassment Felicity managed to give a bright smile. “Great.” 

* * *

They did work well together, but Felicity’s mother was taking this to mean something else entirely; much to Felicity’s dismay. It had been a couple weeks since Oliver had started to work for the Smoak family and Donna kept coming at her with more news from the girls at the salon. 

“Mama I don’t wanna hear anymore gossip.” Felicity said with a loud yawn. 

“I was only gonna tell you that I heard he’s not datin’ anyone.” Donna said looking over her coffee cup at Felicity

“Why would I care about that?” She asked. Felicity did think that Oliver was very attractive and he had been nothing but kind to her, but he was her friend. “We’re just friends.”

Her mother rolled her eyes, “If you say so,” She finished off her coffee and stood to put the mug in the sink. “I still think you should give it some thought.” 

Felicity scowled and took a drink of her own coffee. Donna was relentless when it came to finding her daughter a boyfriend, though, Felicity had no interest in dating. “No thank you.” 

“Well, I’m going down to the Diggle’s home today. Lyla and I need to do some catching up. Then I’m heading to the store. Text me if you need anything,” Donna leaned over and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Have a good day.” 

“You too,” Felicity said holding in a sigh. She let it out as soon as the front door had closed. “Geez.” She muttered to herself shaking her head.

Oliver showed up about ten minutes later. They had worked out a routine that made their day go smoothly. She did her chores around the house while he worked outside. She met up with him after she was done and they finished together. Most days Oliver left after they were done. She didn’t know if he had another job to do, but she wasn’t going to pry. 

“Another good day.” She said as they got all the horses back into the stables. “I really like finishing with you.” She cringed as soon as the words left her mouth. 

Oliver snorted with laughter. 

“I mean I like finishing our work together. It’s much easier with you around.” She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re disgusting and I’m not saying nice things about you anymore.” She huffed and crossed her arms. 

Felicity didn’t know why it was so easy to be friends with Oliver, but it was. They just clicked. They laughed, they teased, and they had nice conversations together. Maybe she was reading too much into things, but she really enjoyed the time she spent with him. 

“Sure.” He muttered with a laugh. 

“I mean it.” She pressed her hand into his arm and gave a gentle shove. “Not a single nice thing will come out of my mouth.” 

She turned on her heels and walked away from him towards the direction of her house. The sun was beating down on them on that July afternoon. They were both sweaty, but neither of them seemed to even care. 

“You’re full of it.” Oliver called after her. 

“Nuh uh!” She didn’t even look back at him. “Don’t you have somethin’ else to do or somewhere to be?” 

“Not yet,” He started towards her catching up easily. “You’re not trying to get rid of me are you?” 

“Of course I am.” She smirked. She stopped in front of her door and finally turned to look up at him. 

Oliver wiped some sweat from his forehead as he caught up with her. “Well damn. I was hoping you would come with me today.” 

Felicity frowned. “What?” 

“I have things to do in town and I thought some company would be nice.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve never hung out with you outside of work so…” He trailed off. 

A wide smile pulled at the corners of her lips. “Sure. Uh lemme text mama real quick and then we can head out.” She dug her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text. Her mother immediately replied with an insinuation that she and Oliver were going on a date in the middle of the afternoon. Felicity rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back into her jean pocket. 

“Ready?” He asked. 

She nodded and locked the front door. No one ever came down there because it was a mile or so from the road, but she wanted to be safe. 

Felicity didn’t know what exactly they were going to do while they were in town, but she did want to spend more time with Oliver; as his friend of course. She climbed up into his beat up truck. It was an old Ford pickup; white with an abundance of rust along the sides. 

“Do you need help up?” He asked. 

She might have been short, but she wasn’t going to let him help her into the truck. “Nope, I’ll be fine.” 

Felicity swung the door open. She gripped onto the bed of the truck and placed her foot on the tire. She teetered there for a moment before managing to climb into the truck. 

“Those were some nice acrobatics.” Oliver said with a laugh. He had already gotten into his seat and was watching her struggle.

She huffed. “I got up here on my own and that is all that matters.” 

He shook his head. “You’re something else, Felicity.” 

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” She buckled up and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

Oliver started up the truck. It made a loud rattling noise and sputtered for a couple of seconds. He made an annoyed face before smacking the dash. The engine whirred to life, but a sigh fell from his lips anyway. 

“You okay?” She asked. 

He nodded slowly, “Yeah. This truck is just a piece of crap.” He sucked in a breath and turned his head to give her a somewhat forced, but supposed to be reassuring smile. 

“Okay…” Felicity said in an unbelieving tone. 

“I’m alright. I promise.” And that was the end of that conversation. 

He turned on the radio as he drove down the gravel and dirt path that lead up to the road. Felicity stayed quiet messing with the tattered hems of her denim shorts. She did think there was something else bothering him other than the truck, but it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk. 

“So…” Felicity said after a few moments of quiet. “What are we doing?” 

Oliver kept his eyes on the road, “You know you probably should have asked before we left.” He spoke casually. “You just agreed without knowing. What if I was taking you somewhere you didn’t want to go?” 

She frowned. “Like where?” 

“I don’t know… maybe a bar.” He shrugged.

Felicity made an annoyed noise. “You are not,” She said. “It is the middle of the afternoon there shouldn’t be any open.” 

Oliver shook his head at her. “You’ve never been to one I see. They’re open all the time.” 

“Why would I want to go drinking with you?” She was mildly offended that he thought she would want to do that. “By the way I’m only nineteen you can’t take me in there.” 

Oliver snorted unable to hold in his laughter. “I was kidding.” He said in between laughs. 

Felicity smacked him in the arm. “You are unbelievable.” 

“Hey, don’t hit the driver.” He was still laughing. _Rude._

“I will hit you all I want.” She huffed and crossed her arms again. 

Oliver took a deep breath and managed to stop laughing, “I do have a point, though.” He gave her a quick glance. “I could have taken you anywhere.” 

“Well, excuse me for trustin’ you. I won’t make that mistake again.” She turned her head to look at him.

He had an expression on his face that made Felicity wonder if trust was not something Oliver was used to receiving from people. He looked surprised, but the expression left his face as soon as it had appeared. 

He smiled instead. “You’re…” 

She cut in. “Something else… I know.” Her own expression softened and she returned his smile. 

Oliver laughed again. After that he was quiet for a few moments. Felicity relaxed in the quiet and just listened to the soft sound of the music coming from his radio. He drove them down the road towards the actual village of Choudrant. Technically she lived just outside of it, but so did most of the farmers and ranchers in the area. 

“I would never actually take you to one of those places. All the bars in town are disgusting anyway.” Oliver finally broke the silence between them. 

“Much appreciated.” She replied. 

“And I’m just picking a few things up for my mom.” He shrugged his shoulders. 

Felicity nodded. “Now that sounds believable.” 

Oliver parked the truck in front of a small drug store. He killed the engine and Felicity unbuckled her seatbelt. She slid from her seat and less than gracefully got out of the truck. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud from her boots. She walked a few inches behind him following him into the store. A bell hanging from the door jingled to let the owners know they had a customer. They walked back to the pharmacy where Oliver quietly asked for a prescription for his mother. Felicity stood there awkwardly, but tried not to look like a weirdo. 

“Please let Mrs. Queen know that these can make her more depressed and…” The pharmacist started to say, but Oliver cut him off. 

“Yeah, I know the whole spiel and so does she.” He muttered sliding over a small amount of money towards the older man behind the counter. 

Felicity acted like she didn’t just hear any of that and looked at a magazine rack beside the counter as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Oliver grabbed onto her hand when he was finished to get her attention. She was slightly startled by the sudden contact. She let him tug her towards the door. His hand was much bigger than hers and warm; it was kind of distracting. They hit the pavement outside, but he didn’t let go of her hand for a few more seconds. When he finally did she gave a small pout. 

“Where to next?” She asked. She wasn’t ignoring that he was bothered by what had just happened in there. He seemed bothered by a lot of things, but never wanted to talk about it. 

Oliver gripped a small bag from the drug store in one hand and pointed towards a grocery store with the other. “That way.” He said quietly. 

Another bell jingled as they walked inside. Felicity let him lead since she had no idea what it was they were there for. She watched him and followed him around the small grocery store. She thought he looked confused. 

“What are you looking for?” 

“Uh…. eggs. My sister usually does this stuff, but she’s busy today.” He let out a long sigh. 

Felicity shook her head a little. “I’ll show you,” She grabbed onto his hand again. It was totally necessary and no one could tell her otherwise. “They’re in the dairy section.” 

“What?” His brows knitted together. “But why? Eggs aren’t dairy.” 

“I don’t know,” Felicity laughed. “That’s just where they are.” 

She let go of his hand when they reached the eggs, though, she didn’t really want to. Oliver grabbed a random case of eggs and turned to leave. “Wait.” 

“What?” He asked the confusion overtaking his features yet again.

“You have to check them to make sure none are broken,” It was Felicity’s turn to be far too amused with him. “And are you sure that those are the ones that your mom wanted?”

Oliver looked from the eggs in his hands to the vast amount that were in front of them. She was sure that his head might explode at any second. 

“The ones in your hands are organic.” She pointed to another carton on the shelf. “These aren’t… and they’re jumbo eggs. They’re less expensive.” 

He slowly put the organic eggs back and picked up the carton she had pointed at. He popped it open and glanced at each egg. “They look fine.” He mumbled. 

Felicity leaned in and checked them too. “Yep.” She smiled up at him. 

“I think I should bring you with me from now on.” He said returning the smile. 

She giggled. “Maybe you should. I think you would be pretty lost without me.” She teased. 

She was glad that his mood seemed to have lightened. Felicity didn’t really like when he was wearing his mopey face. Something he was doing a lot today, but hopefully he would be better the rest of the day. She helped him pick out milk and a few other items before they found themselves at the checkout line. 

“Ollie!” A very shrill voice caused both Oliver and Felicity to turn their heads. 

_Ollie? What the heck?_ Felicity scrunched up her nose a little. 

“I haven’t seen you in weeks!” A tall brunette woman sauntered towards them with a bottle of vodka in her hand. She wore a tight and very short red dress that accentuated her figure. She looked like a damn model, so she wasn’t really surprised that Oliver knew her. 

“Hi, Isabel.” He muttered setting the rest of his things on the conveyor belt. 

“I’m sorry about your father.” Isabel gave him a small sympathetic pout. 

“Thanks.” 

Felicity glanced between the two. Isabel didn’t even notice that she was standing right there next to Oliver.

“You should come down to the bar tonight, Ollie.” She purred. “Everyone misses you.” 

“I’ll think about it.” He said without hesitation. 

“Great!” Isabel practically beamed. “I hope to see you there.” 

“Yeah…” He paid for his things and left the store before anything else could be said. 

Felicity was right on his tail. Again she had the urge to ask him if he was okay. That whole exchange had rubbed her the wrong way and not just because Isabel completely ignored her existence. 

They got into his truck and he let out another long sigh. 

“What was that all about?” She asked. 

He looked at her and shook his head, “Nothing.” 

“Doesn’t seem like nothin’,” Felicity continued. “It’s not like leggy models come up to me every day and start talkin’ like that.” 

Oliver rolled his eyes, “She’s not a model… she’s just a…. friend.” He said it as if he was avoiding calling her something else. 

“Friend?” 

He started up the truck and backed out of the parking spot. “We used to screw around.”

She felt a sudden pang in her lower stomach. “Oh.” Felicity suspected as much. She was friends with Oliver now, that was true, but there were still things she didn’t know about him. She didn’t know much other than the rumors from his past that followed him. 

“Like I said used to. We don’t do that anymore.” He kept his eyes on the road as he drove her back home. 

“That’s your business.” She said glancing out the window. 

“I’m not going drinking either.” He added. 

Felicity didn’t know why he kept saying these things, he didn’t have to explain himself to her, but she had to admit that she was glad. She thought it was weird that he had just been joking about going drinking and then Isabel shows up asking him to go. She didn’t say anything about it, though. “Probably a good idea.” She mumbled instead. 

There was an awkward silence between them that wasn’t helped by the soft hum of the radio. Oliver pulled up to her house and put the truck into park. He slowly glanced over at her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“Thanks for coming with me today,” He looked into her eyes. “Sorry about Isabel.” He actually sounded sincere. 

“It’s no big deal.” She shrugged her shoulders. “And don’t worry about it. We don’t have to talk about her… ever again.” 

“Good,” His eyes dropped lower and he rubbed the back of his neck. “See you tomorrow.” 

“Yep.” Felicity got out of the truck. She walked towards her house, but gave one last glance at Oliver. She waved to him before disappearing inside the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of the Star Wars theme song filled Felicity’s ears and startled her awake. She had been sitting up in bed with her head leaning against the headboard. Her computer still on in her lap and her glasses slightly askew. She straightened her glasses and wiped some drool from the corner of her mouth before reaching for the phone.

Felicity’s vision was blurry so she didn’t bother trying to read the name on her phone’s screen. “Hello?” She said groggily. 

“Thank god.” The words came out slurred together and barely intelligible. There was noise in the background a lot of music and laughter.

Even through the noise and the slurring she knew the voice immediately. “Oliver, what’s wrong?” She closed her laptop and pushed it aside onto her bed. 

“Licity….” He laughed at the way he said her name. “I need you.” 

Felicity gave a small start to what he said. “What?” 

“I neeeeeed,” He dragged out the word longer than necessary. “You. To. Pick. Me. Up.” He punctuated each word, so that Felicity would understand. 

She let out a long sigh. “Where are you?” 

Mack’s bar.” The sound of a crash followed his words. “Ow.” 

“Oliver?”

“Hmmmmm?” He hummed. 

“Sit outside and I’ll be right there.” 

“Okay.” He hung up after that. 

Felicity couldn’t believe that this was even happening. She shook her head and got out of bed. She was still dressed from the previous day, so she quickly slipped on her boots and crept out of her bedroom. She flicked the light off and closed the door as quietly as possible. She could hear the soft sound of Donna’s snores. She moved slowly down the dark hallway hoping that she wouldn’t run into something or trip down the stairs. She was already partially blind adding darkness just made it that much worse. 

After what felt like an eternity of creeping around her own house she had the keys to her mother’s truck and she was out the door. Donna’s truck was substantially smaller than Oliver’s, but it was perfect for the Smoak women. She got the truck started and drove through the grass up to the road. 

The red light of the clock glared at her. It was nearly two in the morning and she was driving into town to pick up her friend and co-worker. _Nice Felicity how are you going to explain this one to mom?_

“She’d probably just be happy that I left the house on a Saturday night.” She said out loud and rolled her eyes because it was disgustingly true.

Felicity sped into town only slowing down when she hit the town line. She squinted her eyes and attempted to find the bar that Oliver was at. She figured she didn’t need her GPS because it was a small town and there were only a few bars. 

“There you are.” She said spotting the older boy sitting on the sidewalk.

She pulled up next to him and promptly got out of the truck. 

“Felicity!” Oliver exclaimed. 

She rolled her eyes again. “Hello, Oliver.”

Her eyes moved over him. He was disheveled. His hair was a mess, his shirt had a few more buttons open at the top than usual, and there were lipstick marks on his face and neck; two different shades. She felt a pang in her lower stomach, but ignored it. 

She waited for him to get up before she realized he was going to need help standing. “How much did you have to drink?” She asked as she leaned down to wrap his arm around her shoulders. 

“A lot.” He snorted and held onto her. 

“Good lord you are frickin heavy,” She groaned underneath his weight. “Are you sure all of this is muscle?” 

He merely laughed at her. 

“Ollie!” A familiar female voice called from the door; Isabel again only this time she was drunk.

Felicity had just seen her only two weeks ago and now here she was again at the bar that Oliver said he wasn’t going to go to. It wasn’t really any of her business, but still.

“Did you find him?” A young man poked his head out of the door. “Oliverrrr! Where ya going?” 

“Tommy!” Oliver called back. “I’m leaving with Felicity.” He sounded too excited. 

“The hot daughter? Nice!” Tommy laughed before grabbing onto Isabel’s hand. “I want to do another body shot off of you.” He said loud enough for everyone to hear. 

Felicity was blushing so hard she could feel the burn from her cheeks, to her ears, and her neck. _Hot daughter? Did Oliver talk about her outside of work?_ She shook her head. That wasn’t important right now. 

She helped him into the vehicle with some struggling. “Please don’t puke in my mama’s truck.” She said before closing the door. 

She took in a deep breath hoping that she could get him home okay. She’d never actually done this before. Sliding into the driver’s seat she looked over at him and shook her head. “Buckle up.”

He fumbled with the seat belt for a few seconds, but Felicity reached over to help him. “Can you tell me what your address is?” 

The smile on his face fell away. “Noooo.” He got a bit louder than necessary. “You can’t take me home.” His words slurred, but she still managed to understand him. 

“Why?” 

“Because you can’t you’ll wake up my mom and she’ll be so maaaaad.” The words tumbled out of his mouth faster than she expected. 

Felicity shook her head. “Twenty-four years old and afraid of your mother.” She mumbled quiet enough that he didn’t hear. She sucked in a deep breath. “Alright. I’ll take you to my house.” 

“Good good.” He relaxed again leaning into his seat. 

She drove back to her house slower this time because she didn’t want him to get sick. She did not need to spend the night cleaning up the truck. Once they arrived she killed the engine and slid from her seat. 

“You have to be quiet.” She said opening up Oliver’s door. She leaned across his lap and unbuckled him. She did her best not to get flustered about how close she was to him. The smell of booze coming off of him actually helped her with that. 

“I’m be so so so so so…” He kept going until he seemed to forget what he was going to say. He blinked a couple of times. “Oh so quiet.” He finally said. 

Felicity held onto him again and shut the door. She carefully maneuvered towards the door. “Seriously why are you so heavy?” She muttered. 

“I don’t know.” He laughed. 

She rolled her eyes and stumbled inside the door with him. “Crap.” She sighed hoping that they didn’t make too much noise. She waited a moment to make sure her mom wasn’t going to come down the stairs. 

Oliver leaned into her a bit more causing her knees to shake. “Why are we standing here?” He whispered close to her ear. 

Felicity shivered when his hot breath fell against her skin. “I was listening for something.” She whispered back. 

“Ohhhh.” He chuckled quietly. 

“C’mon.” She sighed and led him into the living room. 

Felicity flicked on the light, but made sure they were dim enough to not get noticed upstairs. She walked him to the couch and tried to gently sit him down. She ended up getting dragged down onto the sofa beside him. She let out a small “Ooph” when they landed. 

The couch was kind of small; it had three seats but it wasn’t very long. Oliver’s feet would hang off of the end if he decided to lie down, but he could still sleep on it. 

“Thank you.” He mumbled leaning into her again. 

“Yeah, sure.” Felicity was glad that he was safe, but she was still annoyed. “Why were you out drinking anyway?” 

“Because.” He sighed heavily resting his head on her shoulder. 

“Because?” 

“Everything is shit.” He started to sound sad. “Dad’s dead, mom’s always sad…. I don’t think the pills are working.” He was still slurring and it was getting worse as he got upset. “Thea’s too young for this. Too young. She has school and work… she’s younger than you she doesn’t need this.” 

Felicity didn’t even know what to say. He just kept talking words spilling out of his mouth almost too fast for her to process. 

“I wanted to feel like old times.” He sniffled. _Oh god._

“Old times?” She didn’t want him to cry, but she was curious. 

“Tommy… the girls… everything before dad…” He wrapped his arms around her and sniffled again. “He’s an asshole.” 

“Who?” 

“Dad… he was selfish and screwed us all over.” 

Felicity caressed his arm gently. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled. “My dad’s a jerk too.” 

He sniffed and looked up at her. Felicity frowned as their eyes met; his baby blues were so sad. He didn’t say anything else before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She hesitated for a moment, but kissed him back. He kissed her upper lip and moved his hand to the back of her neck. 

“Wait.” She pulled back. 

“What?” He let his hand fall to her shoulder. 

“This isn’t right. You’re drunk and I don’t want to do this.” She pulled away from him. 

“I’m sorry.” He looked down. 

Felicity’s head was spinning and she was feeling so many different things at once. Oliver was one of her closest friends now and she was worried about him. But this whatever it was that just happened was very confusing. 

She let out a long sigh and ignored the lingering tingle on her lips. “You should get some sleep.” She said softly. 

Oliver nodded slowly. 

“I’ll get some things for you, but I’ll be right back.” 

He raised his head just enough to meet her gaze. “Okay.” 

Felicity moved with haste to get a pillow and blanket. By the time she had gotten back Oliver had kicked off his boots and was sitting here with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

“Hey.” She whispered. “I brought you these, but I’m going to grab one more thing.” 

She left him to get comfortable and went to get a few aspirin and a glass of water. She figured that he might need them if not now then eventually. “These’ll be here when you need them.” She set them down on an end table. 

He lay on the couch his head on the pillow and the blanket lazily thrown on top of him. “Thanks.” He mumbled quietly. 

“No problem.” She flicked the light off and slipped out of the room. 

Felicity made it up the stairs and almost to her room when she ran into her mother in the hallway. She held in a yelp at the sight of Donna in her pajamas holding a bat. “Mama, what are you doin’?” She whispered. 

“I heard noises downstairs. I didn’t think it was you.” Donna was about as startled as Felicity was, but she shook her head and moved to put the bat back by her bedroom door. 

Felicity followed her. “Oliver is downstairs.” 

Her mother gave her a confused look. “Why?” 

“He needed to be picked up from a bar. He’s drunk… but hopefully gettin’ some sleep,” She took in a deep breath. “I took the car without askin’ and I’m sorry.” 

Donna shook her head again. “You don’t have to be sorry, baby girl.” 

She was one of the sweetest and most loving people that Felicity knew so she wasn’t that surprised. She did think that her mother was overbearing and annoying at times, but underneath all that she was a caring person. 

“I’m glad everyone is safe.” She barely got the sentence out when a yawn escaped her lips. It was two hours earlier than Donna usually woke up. “I’m gonna go back to sleep and you should do the same.” She turned to leave, but stopped. “You better have been sleepin’ and not playin’ on that computer.” 

_There was that annoying thing again._ “I wasn’t. Oliver woke me up with his phone call.” 

“Alright.” Donna yawned again and shuffled her way into her room. 

Shaking her head Felicity turned to disappear into her own bedroom. This time she actually got changed into her sleep clothes and put her computer away. Her head had barely hit the pillow and she was out like a light. She slept through her alarm and well into the morning, which was unusual for her. 

By the time she was getting downstairs Oliver wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Where’s Oliver?” She asked when she spotted her mother at the kitchen table. 

“I took him into town to find his truck.” Donna said without looking up from the magazine she was flipping through. “I’m pretty sure he went home after that.” 

“Oh.” Felicity tried not to sound a disheartened. 

“I gave him the day off too. He looked downright miserable when he woke up.” 

She sighed, but nodded. “That’s fair.” 

“If you still need help I can call Mr. Diggle.” Donna finally looked up at her.

“No, no. That’s okay.” Felicity moved to get something to eat.

She knew that she could handle working on her own that day. She also wanted to use this time alone to sort out her thoughts. She was very confused about everything that had happened the night before. Felicity wanted to talk about it with Oliver, but at the same time trying to get that boy to open up _without_ alcohol was like trying to herd a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m not going to lie this was one of my favorite chapters to write.  
> I am also loving all the feedback! Thank you all so much. I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far.


	4. Chapter 4

“You know I was thinking.” Oliver said as they entered the Smoak house.

“Oh no.” Felicity teased. She got them both a water bottle out of the fridge and tossed one to him. 

Oliver shook his head. “Mean,” He unscrewed the cap. “But as I was saying,” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I was thinking summer is over, but you’re not in school.” 

It was true the rest of summer had gone by quickly and faded into September. 

“Yeah, so?” She took a sip from her water bottle. 

“So… shouldn’t you be taking some computer college classes?” He frowned as he spoke. 

“I’m takin’ time off.” She said nonchalantly. 

“But Why?” 

_When did this become a game of twenty questions?!_ “Because I’m needed here.” She leaned against the counter and took another drink. 

“Not really.” 

Felicity glared at him.

“I meant you and your mom hired me for a reason. I can take care of all of this on my own.” He shrugged his shoulders. 

“You just wanna get paid more.” She tried to move the spotlight off of herself. 

Oliver scoffed. “I’m trying to be nice and you have to make me look like an ass.” 

“You do that all on your own.” She laughed. 

It was Oliver’s turn to glare. 

“I’m kidding.” She shook her head. 

“Mhmm,” He muttered. “Anyway, I was only saying that you could be in school if you wanted to. You’re too smart to be spending all your time around here.” 

Felicity looked away from him. She didn’t really want to talk to him about this. He had become one of her closest friends, but she didn’t want to get into this topic right now. 

A knock at the door caused them both to look up. “Oh thank god.” Felicity muttered under her breath. 

“Hi, Felicity.” Barry Allen clumsily stepped inside of the door. He gripped onto his backpack and gave her a wide smile. 

“Barry!” She said excitedly. She threw her arms around him and almost knocked him over in the process. 

Oliver cleared his throat. 

Felicity let go of her friend and turned to Oliver. “Oliver, this is Barry,” She gestured to Barry. “And Barry, this is Oliver.” 

The two men shook hands. 

“I’m tutoring him after school a couple times a week.” She said with a sweet smile. 

“Too many AP classes and a short attention span.” Barry shook his head. 

Oliver nodded and finished off his bottle of water. “Well, I should probably get out of your hair.” He tossed the bottle into the recycling. 

“I’ll walk you to your truck.” 

“And I’ll set up.” Barry shrugged his backpack off and set it on one of the dining room chairs. 

Felicity walked with Oliver out of the house. She felt a shift of tension between them, but didn’t really notice until he spoke up.

“So, is that your boyfriend?” He asked shoving his hands into his jean pockets. 

Felicity nearly choked on her own spit. “What?” She sputtered out. “You know I don’t have a boyfriend.” She was more than shocked. “We’re not together. Barry is my friend. We went to the same high school. Well, he still goes to high school because he’s a year younger than me, but that’s not the point.” 

“Oh.” Oliver said, but it sounded like he didn’t really believe her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. It had been over a month since she rescued him from the bar and he had been weird ever since. There had been no discussion about what happened. It was as if it _never_ did happen. 

_But apparently my nonexistent love life is not off limits._ “Why are you asking?” 

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, “Just ‘cause.” 

“Right.” She sighed. 

Felicity hated how things could go from teasing and fun to extremely tense. She didn’t understand it. _He probably regrets everything that happened._ It was the nagging thought that continued to gnaw at the back of her mind. 

Silence fell between them until they reached his truck. “You should really think about going to school.” He said opening up his door. 

_So you don’t have to talk to me every day anymore?_ “Why?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“Like I said earlier you’re too smart for all of this.” He motioned his hand towards the house and stables.

Felicity rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that simple, not to her anyway. “Well, it’s not going to happen, so you’re just going to have to deal with and continue to put up working with me.” _Did I just say that last part out loud?_

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He gave her that squinty eyed scrunchy face he did when he was confused. 

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Her eyes dropped away from him and glanced inside the truck instead. She noticed an empty beer can in the passenger seat, but kept her mouth shut about it. 

“What the hell, Felicity?” He closed the door roughly forcing her gaze back up to him. 

“What the hell what?” 

“Put up with working with you?” 

“Forget it.” Felicity turned away from him and started towards the house. 

“What is your problem?” He called after her. 

“You’re my problem!” She shouted without thinking. 

“Excuse me?” She could hear him moving towards her.

She stopped and sucked in a deep breath, “Why don’t you just drop it?” 

“I’m not going to drop it. You’re being weird and I want to know why.” He was directly behind her, but she didn’t want to turn and look at him. 

“You’re the one that’s being weird.” She said a little louder than necessary. “Ever since the night I picked you up you’ve been acting different.” 

He was suddenly quiet. 

“Yeah see I knew it.” She finally forced herself to turn around. “You’ve been distant and weird. You keep trying to act normal and then you push me away. Now you’re even trying to get me out of the house more. Why?” She pressed her finger into his chest. “Why are you doing this?”

He winced and rubbed his chest where she had poked him. “I meant what I said you’re too good for this shit, Felicity.” 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s not what I asked you.” 

Oliver sighed. “Look I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Are we ever going to talk about it?” 

“Are you ever going to talk about your own issues?” He challenged. 

_School issues? Daddy issues? Or mommy issues? There are a lot of issues._ Felicity crossed her arms, but didn’t actually respond. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

“Shut up!” She shouted. “This isn’t about me. This is about you and your bull crap.” 

“I don’t have to explain myself or talk about it.” He yelled back.

“No, you’re just going to keep pushing me away and bottle it all up until you end up drunk on my couch again.” Felicity didn’t think she had ever been so infuriated in her life. “You know what just go home, Oliver.” 

“What?” He seemed a little taken aback. 

“Go home.” She repeated before turning on her heels and walking towards the door. 

“Are you firing me?” He asked sounding genuinely worried. 

“I didn’t say that, I said go home.” She punctuated the last two words. She didn’t look back at him. She kept going and walked back into the house slamming the door behind her.

Barry jumped a little from where he was sitting at the table. He glanced away from her making it obvious that he had heard everything. 

“I haven’t heard your loud voice in a while.” He mumbled as he fiddled with a pen in both hands. 

“Yeah, I know,” She sat down at the table. “Let’s just get to work.” 

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?” 

Felicity gave him a glare that made Barry recoil.

“Never mind.” 

She scooted closer to him and leaned over his book to see what they were working on. “AP statistics…. should be simple enough.” 

Barry was really good at math and science, but there was so much work to do he needed help studying and keeping organized. 

They worked for a couple minutes, but Felicity could tell that he was distracted. “What’s wrong?” She leaned back and looked at him. 

“Why were you two fighting?” He asked before biting down on his lip. 

“Because he’s a moron,” Felicity spat. “End of story are we done now?” 

“Felicity…” Barry hesitantly pressed forward. “What happened? I thought you guys were friends... at least that’s what you told me.”

“I lied. I didn’t want you to spend all summer at space camp worrying about me being at home in loserdom.” 

“You are a terrible liar. You can’t even lie about lying.” He muttered. 

“Why is everyone being nosy today?” _People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones._

“Well, I’m worried about you.” 

Felicity shook her head and sighed. “There’s nothing to be worried about,” She looked into the younger boy’s green eyes. “It’s just a fight we’ll work it out.” She didn’t actually believe that, but she didn’t know what else to say. 

Barry gave a gentle nod. “If I’m being honest I thought it sounded like you two like each other.” He glanced away from her and back at his book. “I understand if you do. He’s a good looking guy and all.” 

“I don’t like Oliver.” Felicity mumbled. “Not in that way.” 

“Mhmm.” Barry smirked a little. 

Felicity smacked him in the arm. “What do you know about that kind of thing anyway? Have you gotten the courage to ask that girl out yet?” 

Barry’s smirk faltered a little. “It’ll happen and at least I can admit I like her.” 

"Be quiet.” She picked a pen up and started to jot down a helpful trick that she used when she took stats. 

“Aka I’m right.” Barry laughed. Felicity smacked him again this time hard enough that he let out a loud, “Ow!”

It was her turn to laugh this time. 

They were quiet for another few moments before Barry spoke again. “You should talk to him, though.” He scribbled on his notebook page. 

“He won’t talk to me.” She sighed heavily. 

“You have to talk first.” Barry met her gaze. 

“I don’t have to do that with you.” 

“That’s because I’m awesome.” He gave her a cheeky grin. 

She gently bumped into him. “Shut up.” 

He laughed, “But seriously… I hate seeing you all…. angry. The angry face and loud voice are terrifying.” He was half joking. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll think about it okay?” 

“You have to see him tomorrow, so…” 

“If he even shows up.” She sighed. 

Barry frowned. “You really think he’s not gonna come back?” 

She shrugged her shoulders and glanced down at the papers on the table. “Maybe… I don’t know.” That’s a lie. “I know he needs the job, but I don’t think he wants to see me.” “I think it’ll be fine.” He reached over and squeezed her arm. 

“If you say so.” 

“I do.” He smiled. 

She returned the smile, but shook her head. “Alright.” She said letting out a soft breath. “We’ve been screwing around long enough.” She tapped the study guide the were working on with her pointer finger. 

“I know. If I go back home with hardly anything done I’m going to get an earful.” He whined.

“You would deserve it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway there!  
> I already said this, but I'm glad y'all are enjoying this! I also already said that I was contemplating an epilogue, but another idea that crossed my mind is a bonus scene or two from Oliver's POV. Thoughts? Opinions?  
> Anyway, thank you for reading, enjoying, and giving feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

“Hmmm.” Donna said as she glanced out the window.

“What?” Felicity put her breakfast dishes in the sink. 

“Oliver usually comes in to say good morning, but it looks like he’s going straight to the stables.” Her gaze flicked towards Felicity. “I wonder why.” 

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea.” She kept her eyes low. 

“Mhmm.” Donna said narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

“Well, time for chores.” She said suddenly. She scrambled out of the kitchen and towards the backyard. 

“I’ll be here… all day.” Donna called to her before the back door slammed shut. 

Felicity took her sweet time tending the small garden in back. She didn’t want to mess with the daily routine she and Oliver had in place, but she also didn’t want to deal with repercussions from yesterday. 

She stayed kneeling in the grass a few minutes after finished. “C’mon move it, Felicity.” She told herself. 

Letting out a long groan she pushed herself up off the ground. She walked around the house and towards the stables. She kept her mouth shut and walked inside. She started doing her usual work while Oliver continued his. He hardly glanced up at her, but Felicity didn’t expect him too. She kind of figured that he was mad at her or something. 

_Say something, stupid._ Felicity opened her mouth, but snapped it shut a moment later. She needed to talk to him. She wanted to take Barry’s advice even if she didn’t think the eighteen-year-old knew what he was talking about. He was a smart boy, but that didn’t mean he knew anything about the relationship, or lack thereof, between she and Oliver. 

She opened and closed her mouth several more times before simply letting out a long sigh. Felicity glanced towards Oliver just as he was looking in her direction. Their eyes met and they immediately looked away. 

_Awkward._ Felicity shook her head. 

Another few minutes of tense awkward silence went by. She decided that she was being childish, they both were, but one of them had to break first. 

“I’m not in school because I don’t know how to tell my mama that computers are more than just a hobby to me.” Felicity said without looking over at him. 

She could hear his movements slow a few feet away from her. 

“She thinks it’s something I do in my spare time for fun. It is fun, but that’s not the only reason I do it. Codes and encryptions, buildin’ programs from basically nothin’, it’s all so… fascinatin’. There’s so many different things I could do,” A smile pulled at the corners of her lips, but it fell away a moment later. “But like I said I don’t know how to tell her.” 

“You should tell her everything you just told me.” Oliver said quietly. 

Felicity wasn’t exactly looking for advice. She hoped that he would open up to her, but there was still time for that. “Maybe.” She mumbled. 

He walked towards her and gently but his hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” He said in a soft tone that mixed with his touch made her visibly relax. “I’ve never heard you sound so passionate about something.” 

Felicity looked up into his eyes and listened to every word that he said. 

His hand fell away from her shoulder. “If you tell her what you told me with the same,” He searched for the word. “Enthusiasm then she’s gotta let you go to school.” 

“So, I’m going to take it that you’re not mad at me anymore?” She cringed a little as she asked. 

“I should be asking you that,” He murmured. “I was the one being a pain in the ass.” It seemed almost painful for him to admit that he was wrong. 

Felicity nodded slowly. “You were, but I did snap back at you.” 

“I deserved it. But Felicity, I wasn’t mad at you.” He let out a long sigh and looked away from her. “I was frustrated, sure, but not mad.” 

She frowned, but stayed quiet. 

“I didn’t want to push you away, but…” He sighed again. “There’s so much crap going on with me and I didn’t want you to get wrapped up in it.” He met her gaze. “I dragged you out in the middle of the night. You could have gotten hurt.” 

“But I didn’t,” She interrupted him. “If I didn’t think I could handle it I wouldn’t have shown up.”

Oliver shook his head at her. “You shouldn’t have.” 

“What kind of friend would I be if I left you stranded at a bar?” Felicity felt her own frustration level rising, but she didn’t want to fight with him again. “Oliver, I’m fine. Nothing happened. I made the choice to come and get you and I would do it again.” 

“But…” He started to say, but she raised her hand up. 

“But nothing! I’m an adult. I can make my own choices.” 

“I know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You worry too much.” Felicity leaned against a wood post between two stalls. 

“So do you.” Oliver murmured. 

She shook her head, but didn’t deny it. She opened her mouth to say something else, but one of the horses leaned down to snuffle her hair. She laughed and pulled away from it. “I guess we’ve been standing around too long.” 

Oliver gave that famous charming grin. “I guess so.” 

They went back to work. The tension between them had dissipated slightly, but there were still so many things left unsaid. Felicity wondered if they were ever going to have a real conversation about Oliver’s side of things. She had to admit that talking to Oliver about her own situation did make her feel a bit better. She didn’t share things about herself very often; not things that really meant something to her.

“It’s getting late.” Felicity said as they exited the stables. “Well… not that late, but it took us longer today than it usually does. I know it’s my fault since I was talking. I mean you were talking too, but not as much as me.” 

Oliver raised his brow at her. “I think you usually do most of the talking anyway.” He teased.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever.” 

He flashed a smile and she shoved him in the arm playfully. 

“C’mon jerk.” She said walking towards the trees behind the stables. 

“Where are we going?” Oliver asked. 

“I guess you’re just gonna have to trust me and follow.” She didn’t glance back at him when she said it.

Oliver scratched his head and hesitated a moment. He finally started towards her jogging a short way to catch up with her. 

Felicity led him through the trees and down a short slope. “You doin’ okay back there?” 

“Yeah, wondering if you’re leading me somewhere horrible, but fine.” He laughed. 

Felicity rolled her eyes yet again. “Didn’t I say trust me?” 

“I do.” Oliver mumbled quietly. 

“Good.” She finally stopped causing Oliver to nearly run into her. “Here we are.” 

“What?” He glanced around. “Oh.” 

Felicity smiled. They stood on a sandy spot in the middle of the trees a small creek in front of them. It was quiet almost serene. The only sound was their soft breathing, the wind blowing through the leaves, and the trickle of the water. 

“Is this part of your property?” He asked. 

“Mhmm,” Felicity said softly. “I like comin’ down here sometimes. It’s cooler because of all the trees and it’s just… quiet.” 

She pulled away from him and sat down on a rock near the water. 

“Why’d you wanna show me?” He asked, but she merely shrugged her shoulders. Oliver sat down on the ground next to the rock and watched the water flowing down stream. “It’s nice down here.” 

Felicity nodded. “Yep.” 

A few moments of silence passed. “Felicity?” 

“Hmmm?” She hummed. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Her gaze slowly moved to look at him, but he was still watching the water. “For what?” 

“Being a drunken ass.” He muttered. “And for being a regular ass too.” 

Felicity kept her eyes on him. “Thanks.” 

“I mean it, Felicity.” He spoke her name sweeter than he usually did. “There’s been a lot of crap going on at home and I…” He trailed off as he searched for the words he wanted to say. 

Felicity knew he wasn’t the greatest with words especially when it came to speaking about himself. She was going to be patient with him, though. 

“I shouldn’t have laid that all on you and then treated you like crap.” He shook his head. 

“Oliver, I’m your friend. You can talk to me about things.” She mumbled quietly. 

He let out a soft breath. “I don’t know.” 

“Don’t know what?” 

He ran his fingers through his hair and turned slowly to meet her gaze. “I already told you I don’t want you to get dragged into my personal stuff. You shouldn’t be worrying about me or anything else other than getting out of this town. I’ve told you already you’re too good for this shit. You should be out there becoming the next great computer programmer… or whatever it is you want to do.” He spoke with such sincerity that Felicity’s heart thudded a little louder in her chest. 

Felicity swallowed hard. “But I am worried about you.” 

“I’ll be fine.” He said with a sad smile. 

“Oliver…” Her tone and expression said that she didn’t believe him in the least. 

“Felicity…” He matched her tone, but it was almost childish. 

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “I’m bein’ serious, Oliver.” She sighed. “Why can’t you let me be there for you?” 

“I already told you I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.” He raised his voice just slightly, but didn’t actually yell at her. 

She could sense the tension rising and knew this was going to lead to another fight. That was the absolute last thing that she wanted. They both stayed quiet for several minutes before she finally spoke up again. 

“Will you at least do one thing for me?” She asked. “Will you try to stop drinkin’? I know you’re still doin’ it so don’t even bother lyin’ to me, Oliver Queen,” She watched him for an extra moment. “I just think it’ll help. You don’t need that lifestyle or those people who drag you into terrible situations.” She didn’t know anything about Tommy or Isabel or any of his friends, but she didn’t think they were doing him any favors. 

He stared out at the trickling water in front of him. He didn’t confirm nor deny what she already knew. He didn’t give her an answer either.

Felicity shook her head, “Fine.” She pushed herself off the rock. “We better get back up to the house before mama comes lookin’ for us.”

Oliver nodded slowly and pushed himself up. The silence between them was deafening. Felicity felt like she would never understand how things like this happened. The day started rough, but they had been getting better. She thought Barry’s advice would work, but it didn’t. She was going to smack him the next time she saw him. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said as they neared the house and his truck. 

Oliver nodded. 

Felicity started to pull away from him. She went one direction and he went the other. She let out a long sigh. 

“Hey.” He stopped and glanced her way. 

She turned towards him, but didn’t say anything. 

“I’ll try.” 

Maybe there was a little hope after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I feel like I should apologize for Oliver because he's such a stubborn pain in the butt.
> 
> also sorry for the lateness! Busy weekend + school work and I have finals this week yikes.


	6. Chapter 6

_“Watch out!”_

_“Wh-what?”_

_SPLASH_

“I am the clumsiest person alive,” Felicity sighed as she scrubbed her body of filth and mud. “And a moron.” 

She fell backwards into the creek. It wasn’t deep enough for her to get hurt, but she had gotten mud and dirty water all over her. She had been a few feet ahead of Oliver, but walking backwards. Not her smartest moment. One misstep and she tripped. She honestly didn’t know what was worse yesterday’s almost argument or that day’s tumble into the water. 

Their conversations from yesterday hadn’t come up, but that was both good and bad. Good because Oliver didn’t ask her if she had spoken to her mother. Bad because she didn’t know how day one of trying to do better went for him. 

“I’ll just rank today as _one_ of the worst.” She muttered to herself as she turned off the shower.

Felicity hated the feeling of embarrassment almost as much as she hated dealing with slow Wi-Fi connections. After years of clumsiness, foot in mouth syndrome, and general word vomit she thought she might be used to it, but no. 

She dried off quickly and tugged on her favorite yellow sundress as well as a pair of house shoes. She started down the stairs, but stopped when she heard the sound of voices in the kitchen. 

“What are you working on?” Oliver asked. 

Felicity frowned. She had thought he went home already. 

“American Government.” Barry answered. 

“That sounds….” 

“Boring I know.” Barry laughed. 

Felicity moved down a couple more steps so that she could hear them better. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but it wasn’t every day that her friends were together and talking without her. She had actually forgotten that Barry was coming over for more studying that day. _Oops_. 

“Where’s Felicity?” _“Shower,” Oliver said. “She fell into a creek.”_

Barry snorted, but quickly piped down. “Is she okay?” 

“Yeah, just a little wet.” She swore she could hear the smirk in his voice. 

“Okay good. I don’t feel as bad for laughing.” 

Felicity rolled her eyes and shook her head. She leaned against the wall and moved down one more step. She was still out of sight, but just barely.

“So, Felicity said you two aren’t dating?” 

Her mouth fell open.

“Wh-what?” Barry choked. “Why was she talking about that?” 

Felicity couldn’t see Oliver’s face, but he was quiet so she assumed he was making some kind of face or doing his nonchalant shrug. 

“We’re not dating at all. She’s my best friend,” Barry continued. “Why?” He pressed Oliver for a real answer. 

“Just wondering.” 

Felicity scoffed, but she was pretty sure that they didn’t hear her. 

“She’s not my type,” The younger boy commented. “Too much of a string bean.” 

She huffed and crossed her arms. 

“Yeah?” Oliver said. 

“And she does that babbling thing. She can talk a million miles a minute,” Barry kept talking. “And then there’s her hair…” 

“Hey!” Felicity shouted and almost stumbled down the stairs. “There’s nothin’ wrong with my hair. It’s curly and cute. And only does the frizzy thing once in a while,” She glared at the two men. “And I am not a string bean.” 

Barry laughed. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t eavesdrop.” 

She huffed again. “You shouldn’t talk about people while they aren’t in the room.” 

“He started it.” He pointed to Oliver. 

“Just throw me under the bus.” 

Felicity glared at both of them. “It’s true, though, I heard you,” She crossed her arms and popped out her hip. “I already told you that Barry and I weren’t datin’.” 

Oliver looked from Barry to Felicity. She could see the wheels in his head turning, but she had no idea what he was thinking about. His constant wondering about her dating life took her own thoughts back to that night, the kiss, and the way he seemed extra worried about her. She was thinking too much again. 

“I just remembered I have somewhere to be.” He pushed himself up from the kitchen table and started towards the door. 

Felicity sighed and followed him. “You start workin’. I’ll be right back.” She said to Barry. 

“I was already working!” He called after her. 

Felicity ran out of the house in her slippers and quickly caught up to him. “Where are you goin’?” She gripped onto his arm gently. 

“Home.” He mumbled. 

“You’re doing the thing again.” She pulled her hand away. 

“Thing?” He turned his head a little to meet her gaze. 

“The thing where you’re extra nice to me and the thing where you start talkin’ about something and then don’t wanna talk about it anymore.” 

He sighed. “Yeah,” Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t mean to.” 

“I have a hard time believin’ that.” She shook her head. 

“I mean it, though.” 

“Oliver, I just want you to talk to me.” 

He let out another sigh. 

“I don’t understand why this is so hard for you.” Felicity looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

“It just is.” He shook his head. “It was hard for you too.” 

Felicity had to admit that was true and she was still keeping things about her past and her personal life to herself, but she didn’t have to say any of that out loud. 

“The difference is I actually talked to you,” She let out a soft breath. “Can’t you pity me today? I fell into a creek and you didn’t catch me.” 

The smallest smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He was quiet for a moment just thinking before he turned to face her fully. 

Felicity swallowed thickly suddenly nervous about his thoughts. 

“Two things. First, I don’t think there was any way for me to get to you in time.” He said in a gentle tone. “But I do apologize for not warning you sooner.” 

“And the second thing?” She tilted her head a little. 

“Like I said yesterday… I’m going to try.” He sucked in a nervous breath. “Can we go someplace tomorrow?” 

Felicity didn’t hesitate. “Okay.” 

“But you gotta promise me something too.” He said as he started towards his truck again.

“What’s that?” She followed behind him.

“Talk to your mama tonight.” 

This time there was a slight pause this time because she didn’t think that he was actually going to ask her to do that. Although, he did care about her so she didn’t know why she had thought that. 

“Okay,” Felicity nodded. “I’ll try.” 

He gave an understanding expression as he slipped into his truck. “See you tomorrow.”

* * *

“Enjoy your date.” Barry said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“It’s not a date.” Felicity hissed. 

“Oliver asked you to go somewhere tomorrow night, right?” 

Felicity nodded slowly. 

“Just going to be the two of you, right?” 

She didn’t like where this was going, but she nodded again. 

“Sounds like a date to me.” He laughed and started towards the door.

“Shut up, Bartholomew!” She shouted at him. 

“Hey now, using the full name is just playing dirty.” He pouted at her, but it was so fake that she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

“Go away or our tutoring sessions are over.” She huffed. 

“For real?” He shook his head. “I do hope you have fun, though.” Barry gave her a soft smile before heading out of the house. 

As soon as the door shut she let out a long breath. “It’s definitely not a date.” She muttered. She was still confused about what Oliver actually felt towards her. He was so emotionally constipated when it came to actually expressing his feelings. And moody so moody. He was more like a hormonal teenager than a twenty-four-year-old. He would rather snap at her and be grumpy as hell than actually talk to her about things. 

“Why?” She dragged out the word whining and giving another sigh. 

“Why what?” Donna’s voice startled Felicity out of her thoughts. 

“Nothing.” She mumbled pressing a hand to her chest. “You just scared me half to death, mama.” 

“Well, I brought you dinner if that makes up for it,” She set down a bag from one of the restaurants in town on the kitchen table. “Go wash up.” 

Felicity nodded and moved from her seat. Her mother got plates out for the both of them while she headed up the steps and into the bathroom. She felt a sudden rush of nerves bubbling in her stomach. She wanted to talk to her mom like Oliver asked her too, but she was scared. 

“Deep breaths, Felicity.” She muttered to herself. 

She washed up her hands and dried them off. She didn’t leave the bathroom just yet, though. She looked at the reflection in the mirror. “You can do this. You can be an adult and talk about what you want.” It was a poor attempt at a pep talk. 

_Grow up. It’s not going to kill you._

Felicity took one last deep breath and jogged down the steps. She saw her mom sitting at the table waiting patiently for her; the sweetest and most loving expression on her face. Maybe talking to her would be okay. She sat down beside her and picked up her fork. She wanted to let her mom at least enjoy dinner for a couple minutes before she started the conversation. 

“Mama,” She was still slightly hesitant. “Can I talk to you about somethin’?” 

“You can talk to me about anything, baby.” 

“I want to go to school.” She watched her mother’s face and tried to gauge her reaction. “I know you think that my computers are dumb or silly or something like that, but I really want to study computer sciences.” 

Felicity bit down on her lip roughly because Donna was being uncharacteristically quiet. 

“It’s not just a hobby that keeps you from actually sleepin’ at night?” She finally asked. 

Felicity shook her head from side to side.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She asked startling Felicity in the process. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy…. and to find a nice man.” 

“Mama.” She whined. 

“I mean it,” Donna reached up to cup her cheek. “I might not want you to leave the nest just yet, but I can handle it.” She ran her thumb across her daughter's cheek. “I want you to be happy. You can work on the man part later.” 

Felicity smiled wide and moved to wrap her arms around Donna. She hugged her tighter than she probably had in her entire life. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I said how much I adore you guys yet? Because I do... a lot. All your comments make me so happy.  
> We're super close to the end. This was originally going to be two chapters, but I smooshed them together so there is only one more chapter after this.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter.  
> I have to say I had a lot of fun writing this story. It was a very stressful couple of months, but still fun. I'm more than thrilled about the reaction that it's gotten. I love how much you guys are enjoying it. (I want to cry about it tbqh). Anyway, lots of love to y'all and enjoy!

  
  
art by [anddirtyrain](http://anddirtyrain.tumblr.com)  


  


“And another one down.” Felicity said hitting enter on her keyboard.

“Third application?” Donna asked. 

She nodded. “Yep.” She swelled with pride. She couldn’t help it she was so proud of herself and extremely excited to be applying for school. 

“Good.” Donna leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “You should take a break and get ready to go.” 

“Alright,” Felicity closed her laptop. 

She slipped away from her mother and up the stairs. She didn’t have much to do regarding getting ready, but it was better to hide out in her room until Oliver got there. Donna had the same reaction that Barry did. _Why does everyone think it's a date?_ Felicity shook her head and flopped back on her bed setting her laptop down beside her. “Not a date. Just two friends going somewhere together to talk. Yep. That’s it.” Felicity nodded to herself. 

_If he decides to actually talk to me._

She hadn’t seen him all day. He had this Saturday off which left Felicity to do all the work, but she didn’t mind. She still had enough time to fill out her applications and send them in. Three whole applications in one night. It was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.

“C’mon, Felicity don’t psyche yourself out.” She sighed. 

Pushing herself up she decided to strip and change clothes. She went for a pink cotton dress and white flats. It was simple, but cute; at least she thought so. 

“Felicity! The door!” Donna called to her. 

“Coming coming coming.” She practically ran down the steps, but made sure to slow down as she reached the bottom. _Don’t act too excited to see your friend sheesh that’s weird._

She swung the door open and immediately stepped outside. She slammed the door shut behind her before her mother could say anything embarrassing to Oliver. He blinked at her, but she just gave a sweet smile. 

“You look pretty, tonight.” He said pulling away from her and walking back towards his truck. 

“Don’t I always?” Felicity teased. 

“Well, yeah.” He flashed her the charming grin she adored. 

She actually let him help her up into the truck this time because she didn’t want to play acrobat again. Knowing her luck, she would have somehow ended up flashing him her pink boy shorts. 

Felicity buckled up and leaned back into the seat. “Where are we going?” 

“It’s a surprise.” He started up the truck again and drove up towards the road. 

She crossed her arms and gave him a look. 

“Hey, I thought you trusted me.” 

She narrowed her eyes a little. “I do, but there had better not be any shenanigans.” 

He gave a little smirk. “Don’t worry.” 

Felicity relaxed a little and glanced around his truck. She noted that he’d cleaned it. Like really cleaned it. There wasn’t anything by her feet and it didn’t smell like gasoline and exhaust fumes. There was a little air freshener clipped to the little air vent thingy. It smelled like cinnamon. She half wondered if he went to all the trouble for her, but then again he probably just got tired of the nasty car smell himself. 

“You’re being quiet.” He commented. 

“I was just thinking.” She said. 

“About?” He glanced in her direction.

“Your truck smells nice.” 

He raised a brow at her, but realized she was being serious. “Oh, thanks.” He smiled. 

Another moment of silence went by before she spoke again. “I talked to my mama.” 

He waited for her to continue. 

“It went great.” Her smile went wide. “I applied to three different schools. One out of state, Louisiana Tech, and Delta Community College. I think I’m leanin’ more towards Louisiana Tech, but I’m not sure. I would have to wait until summer, but if I got into the community college I could start in January and take pre recs to knock out some credits before goin’ off to a university. But that’s all if I actually get in. I mean I don’t know why I wouldn’t my test scores are well above average.” She finally realized she had barely even stopped to take a breath.

Felicity sucked in some air and shook her head. “Sorry I didn’t mean to ramble on like that again.” She shook her head. 

“You don’t have to be sorry.” His smile almost matched hers. “I like that you’re so excited. I knew your mom would listen.” 

“Is that an ‘I told you so’ I hear.” She waggled a finger at him. 

“It is.” He chuckled. 

Felicity scowled at him, but he did tell her so. “Never woulda thought it.” She said softly, but seriously.

“What?” He gave her a slightly confused look.

“Oliver Queen bein’ right.” She barely made it through the sentence before she started to giggle. 

“I’m not always wrong.” He muttered. 

“Ninety-nine percent wrong.” She could barely contain her childish giggles. 

“Not.” He shook his head, but she could tell that he wasn’t actually upset by the teasing. 

“Okay, maybe more like seventy-five.” 

“Fifty.” He glanced her way and narrowed his eyes playfully. 

“Fifty-one because you took your eyes off the road just now.” 

“Fine.” 

“Good.” Felicity’s expression pulled into a smug grin. All too proud of herself. 

Her eyes moved out the window. It was already getting dark out, but she could see, and feel, that they were moving in a steady incline. It wasn’t very steep, but then again she was pretty sure that this truck would not go up anything bigger than a hill. She looked from the window back to Oliver, but he simply shook his head at her again. 

“You’ll find out soon enough.” 

Luckily that was true. He drove for about another minute or so before parking. He stayed quiet as he walked around to the passenger side door and opened it up for her. Felicity glanced around. They were on top of a small grass covered hill. There were trees surrounding them, but not much else. It was peacefully quiet. It reminded her of her little spot by the creek at home. Oliver led her around back of the truck. He popped open the truck bed and reached up to lift the lid of a box he kept back there. Tugging out a blanket he tossed it over the truck bed. 

Felicity kept watching him wondering what he was up to, but decided to let him do his thing and not ask him about it again. He held his hand out for her and helped her into the back of the truck. He quickly joined her sitting down beside her. 

“There.” He said with a soft breath. 

“What?” Felicity blinked at him. “Why are we here, Oliver?” She glanced around. 

“Well, first off.” He gently grasped onto her chin and guided her gaze to directly in front of them where the sun was slowly going down. 

“Oh.” Felicity spoke almost breathlessly. 

The sky was a mix of orange, pink, and purple all melting together as the sun dropped below the horizon. As it continued its descent the edges of the sky began to fade from purple to deep blue until it became an unending stretch of darkness. 

“That was beautiful.” Felicity kept her eyes on the sky. Little twinkling stars started to appear throughout. 

Oliver smiled wide.

“Is that the only reason we’re here?” She asked glancing towards him. 

The light of the moon shone over them. It seemed even brighter than it usually did; it was incredible. 

“No,” Oliver spoke. “I was getting to that part.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I told you I would try to talk to you. I do want to. I just wanted to come out here because… it’s nice. It’s away from everyone, so no mothers, sisters, best friends, or ex flings can interrupt us.” 

Felicity scooted a little closer to him. She found his hand and when he didn’t pull it away she gave a gentle squeeze. 

“This year has kind of sucked.” He kept his eyes forward. “I know that you know some of what happened. Everyone in this town talks about it.” He frowned, but continued. “My dad… I guess I didn’t know he had a problem. None of us did until it was too late.” 

She swallowed a lump in her throat. She almost couldn’t believe he was actually talking to her about this. She was definitely not going to interrupt him because she did want to listen and help. She didn’t think it was healthy for him to keep all of this inside or try to drown it in a bottle of booze. 

“Ever since he left us.” Oliver sighed again. “He didn’t leave… he died… but…” He trailed off and shook his head. “To me it’s the same thing.” 

Felicity moved her thumb across his knuckles; sweetly caressing his rough skin. 

“Ever since then everything has just sucked. My dad… he did something stupid. He did many stupid things,” Oliver sighed. “He gambled every last penny we had,” He kept his gaze forward almost afraid to look her in the eye. “He took out loans that he couldn’t pay back until there was nothing left.” 

He told her about having to sell their plantation and possessions to pay back all the money his family owed. Felicity already knew about that, but she didn’t say it. She was very glad to hear it from him instead of from her mother. 

“The note he left said he was depressed because he couldn’t feed his addiction anymore Embarrassed because of what he had done. I think he just didn’t want to deal with the consequences,” Anger laced Oliver’s voice. “I want to hate him.” 

“It’s okay to be mad at him, Oliver.” Felicity said. She had some experience in the pissed-off-at-the-father department. 

He sighed shakily, but the way his body relaxed made it seem like he had just had at least a small weight lifted off of his chest. Oliver took another moment before he continued. 

“I’d never had a job until your mom gave me one. No one wanted to hire me because of…” He didn’t finish his sentence. 

“The rumors?” She asked. 

“They aren’t rumors if they’re true.” He looked down at his lap. “I’m not a good person, Felicity. I’ve screwed up a lot and hurt people.” He took a deep breath. “Parties, girls most of which I can’t even remember, but I did try to clean up my act.” 

“You did it, though.” 

“No,” He finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. His baby blues were so sad. “I tried and then I messed up and got you involved in my crap. You deserve better than that.” Felicity shook her head, but still kept her eyes on his. “You’re allowed to screw up. It happens.” 

“Not if I keep doing it,” He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and sighed again. “I haven’t… I haven’t done what I did that night again. I mean I haven’t gone back to the bar. I bought myself some beer at the store, but that’s it.” 

“That’s good.” Felicity leaned a little closer to him. Her hand still on his. 

“I thought I wanted things back to the way they were before, but I don’t know. I don’t need to go to that stupid bar or any parties, but I don’t know if I want to be sober. It’s not that I need it… I don’t think I need it, but.” He gave a frustrated sigh. 

“Hey,” She whispered. “It’s okay, you don’t have to have everything figured out right away. It’s gonna take time, but I can help you.” 

“Felicity,” He looked at her with such sadness it made her chest ache. “I don’t want you to help me. I told you. I’m not a good guy and if you keep trying to get involved in this stuff you’re just going to get hurt.” 

“Stop tryin’ to protect me,” She took a breath and attempted to soften her tone. “Please.” She squeezed his hand a little harder. “I care about you a lot, Oliver. I want to be there for you and I don’t care if somethin’ happens.” 

He might have treated girls poorly in the past and he might get moody and distant, but that wasn’t going to stop Felicity. She was determined. 

“I do care if something happens.” 

“Stop bein’ stubborn.” 

He pulled his hand away from her and shook his head. “Don’t you get it? You’re different. You’re not like Isabel or any of the other girls that I’ve been with. You’re one of my closest friends and I don’t need you getting hurt like everyone else in my life.” 

Felicity searched his eyes. He was being so sincere, but she didn’t want to listen to him. “I’m a big girl. I can handle whatever comes my way and I wish you would see that.” 

“I know you’re strong, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.” 

“Well, it should.” Her hand rest on his shoulder. “I don’t care what happens. I’m not goin’ anywhere. I want to help you. I want to be there for you and you’re not gonna stop me.” 

Felicity’s heart was pounding in her chest. She really did care for him so much. More than a friend should. At this point she couldn’t bring herself to be upset about it. She liked Oliver Queen and she liked him a whole hell of a lot. 

There was a pause between them. A silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Felicity didn’t know who leaned in first; in a quick moment their lips pressed together. She kept her hand on his shoulder and his hand found her cheek. His rough thumb moving across her cheekbone as he kissed her lower lip and then upper. 

It was different than the night he had drunkenly kissed her. This was real. She felt a spark between them. An unexplainable chemical reaction. It made her heart flutter and skin tingle. She pulled back, just barely, after a couple minutes. Her nose brushed against his and she took in a small breath. 

“Wow.” She whispered. 

“Yeah.” His breath fanned across her lips. 

She leaned back a little more and looked into his eyes searching for anything; regret or something to tell her that they shouldn’t have done that. But instead she found a sparkle; a sweetness that almost outshone the sadness that had been there. 

“What are we doin’?” She asked quietly. 

His thumb moved across her cheek again. “I don’t know.” His voice was so gentle. “I still don’t want to h-” 

She brought her finger to his lips. “Don’t even say it again. I don’t want to hear it and I don’t care.” She dragged her finger down his lip before pulling it away. “I like you, Oliver.” She sighed as it left her lips. 

His eyes dropped as if that small sigh had wounded him.

Felicity shook her head, “I’m not sighin’ because of you. I’m sighin’ because it sounds so fourth grade.” She scrunched up her nose. “I _like_ like you.” She use a nasally and childish tone. 

He laughed and met her gaze again. “I _like_ like you too.” He leaned in and kissed her again. 

Felicity kept her lips attached to his and slid into his lap. Her leg slung over his legs and her arms wrapped around his neck. She kissed him slowly and sweetly. She didn’t want to stop anytime soon, especially as his arms wrapped around her. His body was so much warmer and large than her own. Her petite frame fit against him so perfectly. Being in his arms made her feel like a puzzle piece finding it’s place. 

She pulled back to breathe again resting her head against his chest. She could hear the rhythm of his beating heart. A little quicker than normal; it brought a smile to her face. She relaxed into him letting her eyes close. She felt his lips on the top of her head leaving a gentle kiss. 

“You’re my girl, right?” He whispered into her hair. 

Felicity could have replied sarcastically, but instead she nuzzled into him and gave a soft whispered, “Yes.” 

“Good.” He kissed the top of her head again. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe. Physically… and emotionally.”

“I believe you,” She mumbled. “And you don’t have to tell me anymore tonight.” She nuzzled into him some more. Felicity didn’t want him to overdo it. It seemed like a lot to let out all at once, but she was happy that he did it. “I think you told me a lot and I appreciate it.” 

“Thank you,” Oliver said quietly. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head. “You help make things better.” He mumbled into her hair. 

“I’m glad,” She said quietly. A moment or so passed and she spoke again “Can we stay here for a while longer?” 

“As long as you want.” 

Felicity found it so easy to be there with him. It has always been easy. He was one of her best friends and someone she really trusted. She wanted to be that for him and more. She wanted to see him find himself again. She wanted him to open up even more. She wanted to be able to open up to him in the same way. But right now she was content being in his arms.

“I guess I’m gonna owe Mama and Barry an apology.” 

“Hmmm?” Oliver looked down at her. 

“They said this was a date. I told them it wasn’t.” She laughed and tilted her head up again to meet his gaze. 

Oliver chuckled. “They were right.” 

“You should have said that from beginning.” She smacked his chest gently. 

“Would you have still said yes?” 

“I think that is rather obvious,” She rolled her eyes at him. “I would have said yes.” 

Felicity leaned up further and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“Just making sure.” He mumbled into the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The End?_  
>  Okay it really is the end of the fic, but I'm not going to lie I kinda want to write more for this verse. I have ideas, but I'm also working on another brain child of an olicity fic aaaaand I have many things to update that I've been neglecting. So, we shall see what happens in the future!
> 
> thank you again for all the feedback it really means the world to me.


	8. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened at the bar before Oliver decided to call Felicity. (Aka this scene falls right before chapter three starts)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here it is! A bonus scene in Oliver's POV. Now I do have to say that I'm not entirely confident in my ability to write from Oliver's POV, but I tried. I hope you all like it and aren't too annoyed with me for making you wait for the last chapter ;)

“Dude, I’m glad you finally decided to show up.” Tommy clapped his hand against Oliver’s back.

“Yeah.” Oliver gave a halfhearted smile. He shouldn’t be there. He knew he shouldn’t have been, but he was anyway. 

His chest ached with sadness and he just wanted the feeling to go away. “Beer. Whatever’s on tap.” He muttered to the bartender. 

It was early in the evening, so there weren’t many people in the bar just yet. 

Tommy ordered himself the same thing before turning towards his friend. “Where have you been?” He asked. 

“Working,” Oliver muttered. “You know that.” 

“Yeah yeah, you told me you were working with some girl,” Tommy shook his head. “I mean _Felicity_.” 

The bartender slid them tall glasses frothing over with beer. Oliver immediately picked it up and knocked back a large gulp. 

“But you can still come by here more often.” Tommy continued. 

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. 

“We miss you.” He took a drink of his beer and licked the froth from his upper lip. 

“I know. I miss you too.” Oliver sighed. His life was different now, but he didn’t expect anyone to understand it. Not that he planned on taking the time to explain and talk about it. He was dealing with everything on his own just fine. 

He downed his beer and pushed the glass towards the bartender.

“So, this Felicity.” Tommy said. 

Oliver had told Tommy very little about his work or the Smoak girls. They had mostly been communicating through text message the last few months. He didn’t want his friends at his apartment or coming to find him at work, so he didn’t talk about either very much. It was kind of embarrassing going from a lavish plantation to a crappy apartment. 

He sucked in a deep breath and pulled a second glass of beer closer. “What about her?” 

Tommy gave him a look. “When have I ever had to drag information about a chick from you?” 

Oliver shook his head. “Never,” He gave a forced laugh. “She’s not a chick, though,” He muttered. “She’s uh… gorgeous and really smart.” 

He took a drink of his beer and licked his lips, while Tommy received his second drink. 

“That’s all?” He asked raising his glass. 

“She’s blonde.” 

“Bout time you got back around to blondes,” His friend laughed. “I’m currently on brunettes.” 

Oliver rolled his eyes and finished off his beer. He wasn’t feeling it just yet. There was a slight warmth, but he wasn’t even buzzed. He let Tommy talk about his latest sexcapades while he downed a third, a fourth, and a fifth. 

Tommy was only on his third when he finally stopped talking. “But anyway,” He mumbled. “More about the gorgeous blonde.” 

Oliver, reveling in the feeling of the buzz, gave a smile. “Her legs are amazing.” He remembered the way Felicity had referred to Isabel as a _‘leggy model’_ , but he thought that was funny because of how nice Felicity’s legs were. 

“Nice ass too.” Sometimes she wore tiny denim shorts, so it was hard not to notice the perfect curve of her butt. Especially when she bent over to pick something up. He shouldn’t look at her that way because they were co-workers and friends, but he couldn’t help it. 

“Damn sounds hot,” Tommy smirked. “When are you going to tap that… if you haven’t already?” 

“She’s my boss’ daughter.” Oliver mumbled. “Not gonna happen.” 

“Hot daughters are the best.” He laughed. 

Oliver shook his head again. If he had met Felicity before his life turned to crap he probably would have tried to get her into bed. No, not probably, he would have. It was a good thing that he hadn’t. He didn’t doubt that he would have gotten slapped or worse. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but he knew that Felicity was too smart for his pick-up lines. 

The door opened and a few young ladies came into the bar. Oliver didn’t bother to turn his head instead he was ordering up another drink. 

“Tommy! Ollie!” Isabel shrieked with delight. 

Oliver was not in the mood for her. Or at least he didn’t have enough booze in his system to deal with squealing college girls. 

“I was worried I would never see you in here again.” She purred as she leaned into Oliver. 

“Mhmm.” He mumbled taking the cold glass from the bartender. 

“Someone is grumpy tonight.” She rolled her eyes at him. 

Tommy nodded. “He needs some cheering up.” 

“I think we can do that,” She nodded to another woman. Also brunette, but a little shorter. “Right Samantha?” 

Oliver was so enthused about this plan and the fact that they were talking about him as if he wasn’t there. He downed the beer while they were talking and immediately ordered another one. The buzz he felt was slowly becoming more. The goal was to feel good. To numb the sadness and ache he felt. He didn’t want to be depressed. He didn’t even want to be angry. He simply didn’t want to _feel_. 

He was mad, though, he was so mad at his father. He gritted his teeth at the thought of what Robert Queen had done to his family. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had tuned out the girls and Tommy, but they were still talking about him. 

He chugged down the seventh beer. At least he thought it was the seventh. He wasn’t sure anymore. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt because he was starting to feel warm. 

Isabel’s hand fell on Oliver’s arm. “So strong.” She practically giggled. 

Oliver smirked. The alcohol dulling the rest of his emotions for the moment. “Yeah?” 

“Mhmm.” She squeezed his arm.

More people that he knew came into the bar, but the next thing he knew was being tugged off the stool he was sitting on. “Wha…” 

“We’re going to dance.” Isabel said. 

Tommy and Samantha were already on the dance floor. 

“I don’t dance.” Oliver stumbled a little, but tugged his arm back from the girl. 

“Why are you being so pouty?” She asked. 

“My dad killed himself,” He said bluntly. He half hoped it would get her to leave him alone, but a slow dark laugh fell from his lips next. “But you already knew that. Everyone knows that.” 

“Turn up the music!” Tommy shouted.

Crappy country music filled the bar. Oliver blanched and turned back towards the stool. 

Isabel had disappeared by the time he was sitting again. He didn’t know where she went and he didn’t really care. He had another drink before she found her way back to him. This time she had a blonde with her. He didn’t know what her name was, but she was pretty and kind of reminded him of Felicity. 

“I don’t want you to be sad, Ollie.” Isabel said putting her hand on his thigh. 

He laughed again, but this time it was less bitter and more amused. “You’re terrible.” He slurred. 

“Oh are we bad girls?” The nameless blonde asked as her lips pressed against his neck and her fingers messed with the buttons on his shirt. 

He shivered and an involuntary moan fell from his lips. They both kissed his neck and face, but this wasn’t what he wanted. “Okay,” He choked out the word. “Okay, that’s enough.” His words slurred together terribly, but they seemed to understand. 

“You’re no fun tonight.” Isabel pouted. She grabbed onto her friend’s hand and wandered back towards Tommy. He was more fun apparently. 

Oliver barely heard the phrase “body shot” over the loud music. He shook his head. He turned back towards the bartender and was about to ask for another drink, but he was already sliding one towards him. 

“Last one,” He said. “I’m cutting you off, so you better make it last.” 

Oliver looked down at the beer and sighed. He didn’t want the drinks to end, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. He glanced towards Tommy and actually laughed at the sight. He was so in over his head with these three girls. 

He shook his head and took a drink of his last beer. He thought about how he was going to get home, but he didn’t really want to go back to that shitty apartment. His sister and mom shared a bedroom, so he had his own space, but they didn’t have many possessions anymore. There wasn’t anything to do except sleep in his crappy full sized bed. 

The thought brought the anger forward again. He wanted so much to hate his dad, but at the same time he missed the stupid man. It was infuriating to have such conflicting feelings about this. He finished his drink and pulled out his cell phone. Squinting at the contacts his drunken mind tried to figure out who to call. The only name that he could think of was Felicity. 

“Felicity.” He mumbled clicking on her name. He smiled at the contact picture. He had caught her when she wasn’t looking. The sun was shining on her in a way that made her hair seem even more golden. Her eyes sparkled and that smile made his heart skip a beat. 

He needed to see Felicity. He was sad and she always made him smile. It made sense to him to call her. He hit the call button and waited patiently for her to answer.


End file.
